101 DALMATIANS PAW-PRINT CAKE
SERVES 20 PREPARATION: 20 MIN CHILLING: 30 MIN BAKING: 40 MIN
CAKE 120g self-raising flour 120g cocoa powder 10ml (2t) instant coffee powder 3ml (generous ½t) bicarbonate of soda 3ml (generous ½t) baking powder 120g desiccated coconut 120g ground almonds 250ml (1c) coconut milk 15ml (1T) lemon juice 250ml (1c) cooked mashed pumpkin or butternut 300g brown sugar 125ml (½c) oil 5ml (1t) vanilla essence
ICING 100g dark chocolate, chopped 250ml (1c) cream, whipped 1 quantity basic butter icing (recipe on page 38) TO DECORATE cornflour for dusting 500g plain white fondant icing black and red food colouring paw cookie cutter (available at baking supply stores) edible silver paint
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease two 20cm cake tins with nonstick spray and dust with flour.
1 Cake Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Add the coconut and ground almonds.
2 Put the rest of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth.
3 Add the flour mixture and mix well. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking tins and level the tops. 4
Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool slightly in the tins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cakes are completely cooled, cut in half horizontally.
5 Icing Put the chocolate in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave for a minute, stirring halfway through. Keep stirring for another minute to cool it slightly before folding into the whipped cream. Use the chocolate cream to sandwich the cake halves together and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until the chocolate has set.
6 Prepare the butter icing. Remove the cake from the fridge, put on a cake board and spread the butter icing all over the cake, making the surface as smooth as possible. Return to the fridge.
7 To decorate Roll out the fondant icing on a lightly cornflour-dusted surface. Cover the cake with the fondant icing and smooth it out, using a fondant smoother. Trim off any excess icing. Colour some of the leftover fondant black for the paws and red for the dog collar.
8 Roll out the black icing and press out paw prints. Arrange the paw prints all over the cake, using a little water as glue. Roll out the red icing and cut a strip 3-4cm wide to go around the bottom of the cake. Mould a collar chain from fondant icing. Apply edible silver paint and put it on the red collar at the front of the cake.